#because i know they aren't that close but their dynamic is so fascinating

[buckera]

Do you think about Chimney saving Tommy's life a lot? Because I do.

I think about Chimney and Tommy a lot actually.

Chim saved Tommy, because Chim is a damn good firefighter and an even better paramedic; he understood what was happening and knew that Tommy's life was in danger.

in not so many words, but Gerrard basically said that "if Tommy can't save himself, then he might as well die in there" on one hand because he didn't value Tommy more than a pawn that was only worth something because he was a straight white guy (or so he thought), and on the other hand because he didn't seem to care for anyone's expertise on the team in general and he sure as hell didn't even consider listening to someone like Chimney.

but Chimney isn't just great at his job and was great at his job already, but he is a born hero (which was so clearly demonstrated by his competence during the karaoke bar fire and in 7x06 where he was suffering from a life threatening encephalitis, yet he still jumped in to help and save lives) and he values life, no matter what.

Tommy was standing on the sidelines while Chimney listened to scathing remarks and was told to stay behind and do nothing, he was chummy with the other guys and in Chimney's eyes he belonged to their circles. but a life is a life and a team is a team, so in he went to save Tommy, despite Gerrard's ignorance.

but it doesn't just speak volumes of what kind of man Chimney is, it's also where Tommy's growth really started. because no one else went back for him, no one cared that he was passed out inside and even after being dragged out of that building, the others were making jokes at his expense — no one viewed his life as worthy of saving, not his teammates and not his chosen father figure of sorts; Gerrard treated him like he was weak for it, if anything.

so for Chimney to show that his life was worth saving, that the values he absorbed from the others at the then-118 were wrong was something brand new for Tommy — and sure he had a lot more of growing left to do after and he only started to be honest with himself and others about himself after he left the 118. but it all started with Chimney.

and probably this is why he jumps immediately to risk his job and his life, whenever Chimney asks; because the way he gets to live now and that he even gets to live is all thanks to Chimney.

Chimney was the first person to ever treat Tommy like he was worth something and that's not something you easily forget.

[mossy-green-aka-ferrythem]

You know... I have thought a lot about Messmer.

Whether or not he ever left the Realm of Shadow, what matters is that one must think about how deeply heartbroken he must have been by his banishment.

Even speculation as to whether or not he ever saw Leyndell adds to this because imagine. Your mother, your guiding light, creates her perfect, shining, Golden Order, and she looks at you and decided that you are not in it. You will never be in it. Because you stand as a testament to her mistakes. Even though you were a favorite of her's, the serpent that writhes within you is her shadow, and as her son, that serpent has become something that defines you. It has defined you from day one. From the very moment you carried out her graceless purge, you have fully made yourself a son of Queen Marika the Eternal, as that is what Marika has come to embody. Any warmth that was within her instead shines out in a hollow facade, and with that facade, comes the shadow that shows the truth. The truth being you, Messmer.

Messmer is such a fascinating character. He clearly looks up to Marika so much. After all, she is the woman that defined his entire existence. He was most likely the closest to Marika out of all of her children, and his abandonment set an example. I cannot think of any other example of any of the demigods that personally interacted with Marika, only hearing her name echoed through legend. Only candidate I can think of is Godwyn and... well we all know what happened to him.

Anyways Messmer hits close to home because like. He's such a gloomy figure. The dungeon where you find him as a boss, Shadow Keep, is so extremely desolate throughout, even the research hall feels deeply depressing and vacuous. When you find him, he is in the dark, his serpent and flame writhing within him, sitting by a statue of his Mother.

Now I feel as though my thoughts aren't fully formed right now, but god. The dynamic between Messmer and the Tarnished really gets me. Think of it. Marika, someone who represents a golden, holy light that shunned him for his Gracelessness, has summoned you, a Tarnished, bereft of Grace, to succeed her and become Elden Lord. Think of it. How unfair that is to him. Messmer, son of Queen Marika, made to become a symbol of fear, someone truly unforgivable, like his own Mother, only for her to cast him away for that curse that dwelled within him, that serpent at the base of everything, her deep sin, so she can create her Golden Order, and be at peace knowing that her shadow is hidden away, beneath her, suppressed. Banished, completely forgotten, wiped from every historical record, not a single thing in The Lands Between that list his name. Him, made by her to be forgotten, being uncovered again by you, the Tarnished, someone from outside the Land of Shadow, and just. It is just such a shock to Messmer that such a thing happened. That his Mother's interest lies in a figure that in some ways, is not dissimilar from him. It must just feel so unfair. He's shorn of light, a shadow, abandoned by Marika. While you. You are Tarnished, without Grace, only guided by it, and Marika has chosen you, and others like you... and not him. I believe his commentary about his purpose, him embracing you with his flame, is out of envy, out of him trying to talk from a high position he doesn't have. All of this climaxes with his second phase, where he finally rips out his Mother's seal, and embraces oblivion. He stops living a lie. He realizes who he is. Cursed by shadow, fallen down into oblivion, merely a coiling, base serpent, embodying vice. Embodying all his cruelty, all of it completely taking him over.

All of this means that the only worlds he can say as the last of his life leaves him, are these words that just say it all.

"Mother... Marika...

A curse...upon thee..."

His mothers love has long since left him, abandoned him, and this is all he had left, until the end, where he finally realizes everything.

[fist-of-vengeance]

thinking about how essentially every relationship john locke formed in the early seasons of lost has completely disintegrated by the time of his death.

of course there's his relationship with jack, which starts tense but manageable and culminates in jack pointing a gun at john's head and pulling the trigger. but even his smaller, less narratively prominent relationships either implode or drift apart. he bonds with walt in season one but then walt leaves the island, which is itself a severing of their bond since it was mainly based on being the only two people who wanted to stay. still, he goes and visits walt off the island so this is probably john's most successful relationship. I dont think i need to explain how he fucked up with boone, "the sacrifice that the island demanded." charlie viewed john as a mentor and claimed to trust him more than anyone on the island, but after the events of fire and water, that trust is destroyed and charlie despises him. at the same time we get john bonding with claire and having a pseudo-paternal dynamic with her, but their closeness basically drops off the face of the earth as he gets less and less involved with the other survivors.

his arc in the series is essentially a gradual distancing from everyone around him. it starts when he abandons hunting (providing for the others) in favor of trying to get the hatch open (it's extremely clear his primary motive isn't any survival applications but getting answers to the mystery). when they do open the hatch, he spends more and more time inside, underground, cut off from other people. he spends more and more time interacting with ben, a human mystery box that he's obsessed with cracking even if it gets him killed. he follows the proverbial white rabbit deeper down the hole and leaves his connection to humanity behind. the island and its mysteries become more important to john than anything or anyone else.

then in season three we get him claiming to go undercover with the others only to unceremoniously tell sawyer that he's actually going to join them. and it doesn't feel shocking, it feels inevitable. because john has spent the entire series becoming less and less connected with the people he arrived with. in that sense he actually makes a fascinating foil to juliet, who is introduced as one of the others and yet never really fits, she's increasingly sympathetic and kind in a way the rest of them aren't, her redemption arc feels so natural that she actually starts referring to her old people as "the others" like she's been one of the crash survivors from the beginning. her and john basically have inverse arcs, which is probably accidental but very neat.

in season five john tries to convince everyone to go back to the island, and fails spectacularly. and of course he does, because he was so consumed by obsession that he stopped maintaining his relationships, and in many cases actively alienated people (this is also basically what happened with helen) and now he can't wrap his head around why they're all so hostile to him. i am forever obsessed with the scene where he confronts kate and she brutally calls him out for wanting to return to the island because he doesn't love anyone. it actually struck me on rewatch how well the two of them got along in season one, and how badly their relationship has degraded by this point. john repeatedly casts aside interpersonal relationships in favor of his obsession with destiny, so when said destiny actually involves persuading the people he once shunned, he's at a loss. this is because john treats purpose as a supplement for connection, destiny as an alternative to love.

as an aside, this aspect of john's character kinda ties into my opinion that several lost characters can be read as allegorically neurdivergent under a certain lens. i know this was absolutely not intended, but as an adhd former gifted kid who struggles socially, there is something uncomfortably familiar about a character who allows their relationships to burn around them because of a single-minded obsession, especially as a result of being promised the fickle status of "special."

tl/dr: john locke is a doomed idiot and i love him

[honey-milk-depresso]

Could you do a deltarune Kris!MC with the dormleaders and staff?

I decided to this with the staff since I wanted to give them more content :')) Also MC is a student, and this is platonic. I could only do 3 because I don't have the strength- at all-

You're rather… quiet, a bit too introverted that people would find it astonishing to be able to converse with you in anything. You aren't very energetic, and you tend to distant yourself from people, even the few friends that you have. Even so, you do seem to have a wide array of things you're interested in, love to pull pranks and interest in magic, perhaps why you were so fascinated in Twisted Wonderland.

TWST The Enigmatic, Introverted by somehow funny, MC (Kris)

Dire Crowley

A bit concerned for you to say the least. You're just awfully quiet, and you barely utter a single word to almost anyone! You okay?

Beside you, he looks like an overly enthusiastic father with their super quiet child. It's a rather funny dynamic to see, and Crowley helping you (well, trying-) to make friends with the other students was a rather challenging part of his whole career-

Somehow, though, you always manage to surprise him with your pranks such as how you replaced his writing ink with soy sauce, and he wondered why his ink smelt so salty.

Perhaps you really are a troublemaker deep down. He sighs, placing his top hat on his work desk as he took the bottle of ink from you.

"Hehehe..!" His eyes widened, twisting his neck to you with a shocked look on his face. You… you really just… laughed… OH MY SEVENS-

He's ecstatic, and he's smooshing his cheeks against yours. "AHHH MC, You laughed! I'm so delighted!" <3

Divus Crewel

Well, at least you're quiet and paying attention, he first thought. At first. After some time, he realizes just how awfully… quiet you are. Gosh, how you made him want you to talk.

Divus pulls you aside one day after class as you stared at him blankly yet expectantly. "Well, pup, you know you don't really bark or woof in this class. Or anywhere for that matter. Is there something the matter?"

You shook your head, only having him feel skeptical. Regardless, he keeps close tabs on you, and tries to partner you with new students during projects instead of the few same people (much to A*e and Deuce's dismay-), just so you can mix around and interact with more people, and it sort of worked (although some people made fun of you for being a weirdo… which Divus promptly took care of them).

Divus is a bit annoyed by you pulling off (harmless) pranks on him… but seeing you giggle quietly to yourself…

Ah, he'll let this one slide, pup. <3

Sam

Aren't you a quiet fella? You barely talk when you and your friends come over to his shop. You simply point to them what you want, and they do the ordering.

Even if they didn't come, you don't utter a single word to him at all.

He wonders if you don't talk at all, if you are mute, but it turns out that you actually can talk and speak (according to Adeuce), but you just choose not to.

Sam wouldn't force you to speak, but he'll mostly encourage you to. "Hey, wanna help me promote sales? I'll pay ya, promise!" Once he gets you to do the job, he'll start to pull the strings just the way he wants it.

"You gotta use your voice and spread the good deals, MC! Otherwise, no one's coming into the shop!" and hopefully you'll be more open to speak. Sneaky from Sam, but very smart of him to think of such.

Pranking Sam with a water balloon when he enters the door, the water splashing on top of his head makes him blink in surprise. He sees you laughing at the side, as he finally gets to hear you. He smiles and laughs with you. <3

Reblogs help! ^^

[thewildsophia]

3Below//Krel Tarron x Depressed!Reader

A/N: Re-watching 3Below has reignited my love for Krel. There also aren't any Krel x depression out there so fuck it ima do it myself. For these headcanons, I imagine the reader to have Major Depressive Disorder as opposed to any other kind of depression bc that's what I have. Enjoy!

TW: S//H, S//I, Adult Language

Another warning will be placed before sections containing the above.

Words: 2485

"Read More Link” placed due to length.

Krel Tarron x S/O w/Major Depressive Disorder

At first, Krel would not understand. That is, he wouldn’t pick up on the fact that you have depression. 

His knowledge of human sociology and behaviors is very limited when he and his sister first land on Earth. However, even after he’s spent months here he still struggles to understand and pick up on social cues. 

So even though you exhibit very obvious signs of depression — i.e. lack of energy/appetite, excessive sleeping, and loss of enjoyment in activities — Krel doesn’t suspect anything inherently wrong with you. He thinks that your personality is just different from your other human counterparts. 

And to be fair, for as long as he’s known you, you’ve always acted this way (because you were depressed-). 

You would definitely have to tell him you’re depressed because otherwise, he would never figure it out. You ended up telling him during a period of lucidity where you didn’t feel too bad and were conscious of his lack of understanding of your behavior. 

As you tell him, Krel stares at you intently, committing everything you're telling him to memory. 

Now he really doesn’t understand. 

This whole time he thought you just have a different temperament from the other humans at your school, but in reality, you were suffering from a serious illness that he had no idea you had.

Tbh, Krel’s not ok for a few days after you tell him. For a brief moment, he’s angry that you didn’t tell him sooner, but he quickly understands why and his anger dissolves into sadness. He feels so terrible about not picking up on the fact that you’re constantly in pain and that he’s done nothing to help you. 

Krel spends the next few days after you told him researching all about depression and other similar mental illnesses. He’s honestly a little fascinated by how many illnesses there are lmao. It’s just that on Akaridia-5, there aren’t illnesses like that, so he’s happy to learn something new (even if it’s not under more favorable conditions). 

Krel has a lot of questions about your flavor of depression for when you’re mentally ready to answer such questions. 

Tbh, he’s a little insensitive with some of his questions, but that’s just because he doesn’t know any better. Correct him (politely) and he’ll make sure to be nicer with his questions. 

Not much changes dynamic-wise; Krel’s still your loving boyfriend, the same way that you’re still his loving significant other. 

He does make it a habit to compliment you every time he sees you. Whether it be a compliment about your looks, your school work, or even something as small as “I’m happy to see you today,” he really tries to boost your confidence in hopes that you feel better about yourself. 

He also tries to be around you more often, both to make sure you’re ok and to show you that he’s there for you. 

Krel becomes better at predicting when you’re about to enter a depressive episode. Having been around you for so long and now knowing what the warning signs are, he’s very good at guessing when you’re entering certain episodes (sometimes even before you know. Scary, huh?)

When you enter depressive episodes, Krel does everything he can to make sure he’s there for you, both physically and mentally. He will hold you close to him with all four of his arms while he listens carefully to what is troubling you. 

Krel still doesn’t quite understand the emotions involved in depression. Like many other people, he believed that it was just constant sadness, but the more he read and spoke with you about the matter, the more complex it all became. Sadness, despair, emptiness, fear, anger, jealousy, all emotions that he’s never really felt in full. Not to mention other even more nuanced emotions such as paranoia and shame that he’s actually never felt at all. 

Krel is also very good at helping you through mood swings. He’s come to understand that all humans fluctuate between many different emotions, sometimes in a short period of time. He knows when you want him close to you and knows when you want space. 

If you are someone who is very mature with how you explain how you’re feeling, -- like telling someone you’re mad at them, why you’re mad, and that you want space to cool off/talk with them about it -- Krel has an easier time responding to you. He’s much less likely to misinterpret your feelings and what you want. 

Krel actually learned how to vocalize his own emotions from you whenever he’s distressed or upset which definitely opened you two up for a much more healthy form of communication.

He just struggles with emotions in general, but he makes the effort to understand for you :)

TW: S//H, S//I

If Krel ever gets even a hint that you’re hurting yourself, his mental walls would fall and he’d collapse in on himself.

If there is someone who is threatening or hurting you, he, his sister, and Varvatos can easily get rid of them. If you are sick, he can help treat you until you are better. Even if you do something as small as scraping your knee, he can be there to put a bandage over it.

But yourself? He can’t protect you from yourself. He doesn’t know what to do and that scares him so much.

After what happened with his parents, he is very grateful for the lives of those he loves as he understands just how easily they can be taken away from him. He is afraid that one day you will be gone and all that will remain is him.

Krel would have found out about your self-harm either on his own or someone tipping him off about it. You just didn’t have it in you to tell him yourself. 

Krel then begins to really try and learn human medicine. He would spend hours reading medical articles, watching first-aid videos, and taking copious notes about everything he learns, even if it grosses him out a bit (organic organisms were never really something he was interested in before).

He tries to come up with other things you can do when you feel like hurting yourself; Drawing/coloring, writing, reading, playing games, anything that will distract you. He’s always sending you ideas especially when he’s not with you and knows how you’re feeling. 

And to both of your credits, your self-harm does lessen in both severity and quantity. But unfortunately, it doesn’t always help since old habits die hard.

Krel is there in an instant to help you when you relapse assuming you tell him you need help. Even if you decide not to tell him immediately and care for yourself that day/night, Krel almost always finds out sometime after and worries over you about it. 

His hours spent learning first aid pay off when goes to treat your wounds; Cuts, burns, bruises, bites, you’re convinced that Krel can treat any minor injury. And you’re grateful for that. 

Krel is thorough about disinfecting any open wounds with hydrogen peroxide or Neosporin over burns and is incredibly gentle when wrapping them in gauze. He likes to check on them every few days as well to make sure they’re healing correctly.

He holds you close to him afterward -- all four arms wrapped around you and face pressed into your neck/shoulder -- and begs you not to leave him. At first, you’re confused thinking he meant, like, break up with him. It isn’t until you give it more thought that you realize that he doesn’t want to leave him through death.

If you ever express feelings of guilt -- whether verbal or through body language -- Krel quickly dismisses them from your mind by telling you how he wants to help you and how much he loves you. That he wouldn’t bother doing all of this if he didn’t see anything of substance in you.

If you ever express a desire to die, -- whether through suicide or some freak accident -- Krel will look cool on the outside but on the inside, he will be panicking. As hard as he may try, Krel could never understand why you want to die. 

Even if you explain it to Krel -- Everyone and everything that troubles you and the awful guilt you constantly feel by just being alive -- he believes that there is always a reasonable and achievable solution to your problems. It’s not that he’s trying to downplay your problems or your emotions, he’s just naturally more of a rational thinker even under stress.

But even though he doesn’t understand the emotions themselves, he does understand that human emotions can elicit other undesirable responses and thoughts.

Krel will constantly tell you how much he loves you and that he doesn’t know what he’d do with himself if you were dead. 

He does what he can to push those thoughts from your head.

As written earlier, Krel likes to spend time with you in person. Not just because he loves you sm but also because it makes it easier to keep an eye on you and intervene when necessary.

Def says something along the lines of, “I’m happy you’re alive.” And the first time he said that you cried so hard he thought he insulted you lmao. You had to explain to him that you weren’t insulted but relieved and overjoyed. 

Krel is not the most emotionally intelligent person out there, but he tries to be and is willing to understand them for you.

When you had shown up at school with a busted lip, bloody and bruised knuckles, and a dull gash on your cheek, Krel freaked the fuck out. The moment he spotted you walking to your locker from his own locker he was all over you. 

“What happened?” Krel cried while gently taking your face into one of his hands while the other went to grab your hand.

“It’s nothing,” You mutter, pulling your face out of his grasp and taking a step back. Krel scoffed, looking almost offended while saying,

“Nothing? Nothing did that to you?”

“I just-” You start, raising your hands up in defense before dropping them at your sides, “I got in a fight with Steve. It was over something stupid. We’ve known each other for most of our lives; I just worry about him.” You cross your arms to hold onto yourself and look anywhere Krel isn’t. Krel moved his head so that it was in your line of vision, forcing you to meet his eyes. 

“I take it you don’t want to talk about it?” He asked. You nod ‘yes,’ and Krel frowns.

“I won’t push you then, but I really want to get you treated,” He says, taking a step closer to you. You stay where you are and allow him to hold your hands.

“Later, I’ll be fine for now,” You say while bringing up one of his hands to kiss the top of it, “You can have Aja or even Mother patch me up after school.”

Krel looks at your knuckle hesitantly before agreeing, trusting that you truly would be fine until after the school day.

The moment the last bell rang he made a beeline to find you and ran you to his house as quickly as possible. The two of you were the only ones home when you got there, so Krel wasted no time in having one of the blanks retrieve a first aid kit. Once given to him, Krel attempts to treat your injuries but fails pretty miserably. 

You end up showing him how to clean and wrap different kinds of cuts and bruises. It’s when you’re in the middle of cleaning your knuckles in the sink that Krel says something that makes your stomach drop.

“Mother, can you scan Y/N for any more injuries, please?”

“Wha-Mother! You don’t have to do that!” You shout panicked and covered your arms in a vain attempt to conceal your other injuries. 

“Numerous other injuries found upon Y/N in the upper arm, forearm, and thigh regions. Approximately 27 cuts to the epidermis and 3, 1st-degree burns found.”

“What!?” Krel turned around so fast to face you, you swear you saw his electric blue hair whip from the air, “Where?! I demand you show me!”

“No!” You cry back panicked, hands gripping the side of the sink behind you. Krel scowls and grows before shouting, 

“Mother, show me a hologram of where the injuries are on Y/N!” 

“My King-in-waiting, It would seem that I have breached a highly sensitive topic on behalf of Y/N. I believe it best that they discuss it with you themself.” Mother responds. Krel sighs, his upper right hand running through his hair.

“Y/N,” He starts, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m really worried.” He carefully walks over to you but leaves a foot of space between the two of you.

“Will you please show me where you’re hurt?” He asks quietly. Your eyes begin to burn with tears and your mouth opens to explain yourself before shutting quickly with a ‘clank’ of your teeth. Unable to speak, you place your hands into his lower ones, palms up, and nod your head. Gently, Krel’s other hands push your long sleeves higher up your arms, and he’s baffled at the numerous cuts he sees littering your arms. There were many different colors, thicknesses, lengths, and stages of healing -- some were a day old while others were weeks old. He ran his thumb over one of the older ones.

“Wha…” Krel stutters, eyes dancing over your arms, “What are these? What-Who did this?” His eyes flicker up to yours. 

Your jaw twitches -- wanting to speak but unable to -- and you pull one of your hands away from his to point to yourself. Krel’s eyebrows furrow.

“I-I don’t understand,” He whispers, his own eyes beginning to water, “I want to understand.” 

“I did this,” You mumble out, pulling your other hand away from his, “I am…ashamed.” Tears begin to fall and you scrub gently at your eyes to dry them.

“You-You did this?” Krel asks, confused and stunned, “You willingly hurt yourself? Why?”

You heave out a few breaths trying to figure out how to relay your emotions to him. While difficult to say, you manage to squeeze out three words.

“I hate-” You stammer, “I hate myself.” 

And Krel is immediately embracing you.

“I love you,” He says, cupping your face in his upper hands and staring into your eyes with his other two around your waist, “I love you so much. Please don’t ever say you hate yourself.”

Gently, he kisses your forehead, your cheek, and then your lips.

The two of you are left a sobbing mess of tender skin and emotion in the kitchen for Varvatos and Aja to find later when they arrive home.

[thoseyoulove]

Hello,Can you rank your Armand favorite relationshipw and why ? (I just love reading opinions , nothing serious)

Hi!

Fistly, thank you for the question! I get sometimes sending messages can be uncomfortable and you may not receive the nicest answers, but you don't need to explain yourself. Whether is a fun or serious question, asking my opinion or sharing your own: I LOVE talking about this universe and always welcome it.

Anyway, now to ranking!

P.S. This is long and contain spoilers. These opinions are based on the sequence from The Vampire Lestat to The Vampire Armand and aren't necessarily permanent.

Lesmand / Armandstat

Favorite relationship on the books as a whole for basically three reasons: it's always interesting (even on its smallest moments), they are deeply mirrored so it provides a compelling dynamic and is often intense. They are two sides of the same coin and parallel one another so much in terms of personalities and experiences. From their first interaction, it already seemed that they knew each other their whole lives because they could read one another like an open book. There is this mix of unconscious, but immediate recognition, understanding, curiosity, care, attraction, insecurity, fear, anger and frustration because they're the only ones that fully get each other. It's one thing to know someone for what they share or you observe, but you only fully comprehend somebody when you have a lot in common like they do. Still, that's terrifying because you're completely bare, vulnerable and forced to confront stuff you want to run away from. They have a lot of sharp dialogue and arguments where they throw the hardest truths on the other's face and they know how to push each other's buttons from day one. Yet, the fascination, affection and protection are still there and they always stay somewhat close. And that results in a lot of first class tension: what brings both together also pulls them apart and they're often fighting so many conflicting emotions (as a duo and individuals) because they keep going back and forth. Obviously, they're far from perfect and have both tremendously hurt one another verbally, physically and with Claudia's death (which Armand's is responsible for). But even then, they were never enemies or rivals. I get why people would use such words, but I think they would need to hate or wish bad things for each other to be classified as such and that's never happened. Even if they did something to give that impression, it wasn't genuine and they made themselves suffer in the process too. There was definitely hate for words said and things done, but for the person it was always love. Through the good, the bad, the ugly and the complicated. This dynamic defies definitions and there aren't enough words in any language I know to fully and precisely categorize or desxribe even it. For better or worse, they're on a league of their own and I've never seen anything like it on books, movies or TV shows.

2. Armand x Bianca

I love Bianca. She's been such a great addition and it's a breath of fresh air whenever she appears. It was so satisfying to see them being friends, connecting and Armand having something that was entirely his own without Marius being involved (though considering the pattern of this book, it will probably change). I also enjoy the fact they met and bonded as humans, you know? There's something lovely and unique about it since most pairings had one or both parties already being a vampire on their first encounter. And another sweet thing is that even centuries later Armand still emphasizes how he'll never forget her. They have become really special to me.

3. Armand & Riccardo

Usually relationships where one is a small or Marius is somewhat involved don't work for me, but that's an exception. Riccardo isn't as developed as Armand and part of this (creepy) palazzo where Marius keeps several teenagers/children in, but you do know enough to grow attached to him. Actually, given the situation these boys are in, I ended up caring about the ones who don't even have a name. And despite the proximity Marius has to them, the kids have friendships of their own. Obviously, this isn't the healthiest environment and they all deserved better, but I'm so glad they had each other and a sense of family (specially because some of them don't even remember their own relatives well anymore). That brings me some kind of comfort. There are these moments when Armand gets emotional thinking about how much he loves them all and would die for them and when he almost does and they're all (with Bianca) crying and Armand is surprised by their reactions because they loved him so much... It really moved me So, I adore them.

4. Armandiel

The Devil's Minion chapter is one of my top favorite pieces of The Queen of the Damned. Its best aspect is seeing Armand on his self-discovery journey and how Daniel was just patient and supportive. And that's so important, because a big part of Armand's characterization is how he has no sense of identity. He's gone through so much trauma since early and formative years and always adapted to please others or even make out alive. This made him lose key parts of his memory and every sense of self and he definitely needed that. So, to see Daniel not tell him what to do, but instead let him try new stuff, see what he loved or not, on his own terms and pace and Daniel just going along with him... It was wonderful. The only downsides is that I believe Daniel deserved more individual development and it was rushed. Twelve years deserved more chapters, probably books plural. That said, I bet the show will take its strong points and only elevate their story. And I can't wait because I've already lost my mind with them on season 2 (they have my favorite scene on the show, by the way).

Honorable mentions:

Armand & Benji + Sybelle

Haven't seen a lot of them, but Armand opened his book saying he was full of love and excitedly talking about these children he took in. There's also this moment he asked David if he liked his kids and he just sounded like a proud dad. It was adorable. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of them.

Armand & his family

There's been very little of them and I doubt there will be more, so I can't talk about their relationship per se, but the chapter they say goodbye is devastating and beautiful. Those recent posts of me losing my mind were because of it. I've never cried so much with art and rarely cried like that even in real life. It was an experience I'd never had before and an emotion I didn't know was humanly possible. I was mentally, emotionally and spiritually touched to the point of exhaustion. It's been the best part of The Vampire Armand, if not of the whole chronicles. And it will stick with me forever.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

Unfortunately I didn't make it before the end of Pride Month, but - while there are a lot of potentially queer ships in the subtext of the Digimon universe that fit the tone, there aren't as many of them that came this close to technically being confirmed as having a valid (canon) baseline as this one.

To ask if canon provides input on Daisuke and Ken - or Daiken, Kensuke, Daisuken, however you want to call them -, is, once again, like asking if water is wet; they're the most elaborated relationship in the entirety of Digimon Adventure 02, the majority of Ken's development is tied to his bond to Daisuke... If you want to read more about why I value their relationship so much, I definitely recommend this post here, because they're just... Endlessly fascinating to me.

The good-hearted goofball with self-esteem issues that lead him to play a role to impress others initially - meets a corrupted genius and literally slaps the darkness out of his system. They turn from fated rivals to fated partners, facing the powers of darkness together and eventually, they become better people in the process thanks to one another. Daisuke's entire priority system changes upon wanting to give Ken a chance, he not only becomes more honest and less defensive, but also lets his personal sense of courage and friendship shine through; Ken, who's initially reluctant to take the hand Daisuke is offering him due to all the guilt he feels, slowly but steadily becomes the kind and gentle soul that was always within him, because there is someone by his side who has his back. Always.

It's a beautiful story of two complementing souls, whose bond enables the first real Jogress evolution, despite the fact - or even because - they couldn't be any more different. It's a story of repentance, forgiveness, learning to befriend others despite your own trauma and differences - and the story of a romantic subtext that almost hits you in the face if you're not careful enough. There is a reason why the screenshot above exists - the most recent movie literally acknowledged that, even after all these years, the bond between Daiken has not vanished and has, instead, gained a somewhat (actively) flirtatious nuance. While it used to be Ken who blushed due to Daisuke's (oftentimes oblivious) bluntness, the same Ken is now forward enough to openly praise Daisuke in ways that make it impossible to overlook the potential implications here - well, for anybody who isn't Daisuke himself at least...

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

Given the circumstances that we're, unfortunately, not talking about a canonically confirmed ship, we just gotta pretend that there will be a day when Ken's attempts of asking Daisuke out will be answered in two potential ways: 1.) "Huh? YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH ME THE ENTIRE TIME????" or 2.) "Huh? I thought we were together this entire time anyway???" Because both of these would be somewhat plausible "Daisuk-esque" reactions in my opinion.

I thoroughly believe that these two would work out romantically in fantastic ways - even though it'd take a lot of work, but which relationship that intends to last doesn't? They both chose careers that require enormous amounts of time and energy - and very irregular working hours. Granted, the latter applies to the majority of the Chosen Children, but an aspiring chef of his own Ramen cart may only be able to see an aspiring police officer if the latter's break time allows him to grab a meal at a Ramen facility that is coincidentally very close by... Gate hopping may have made that a lot easier, but at this point, we don't even know if that is still a thing anymore.

I still maintain that, as much as they'd be married to their jobs, they both still have quite a romantic side to themselves once the curse is broken - so they would make time, just like they did throughout all these years. While their interests in general might also be quite different, they would always find a way to bond over their mutual love for sports, football in particular. Ken needs someone who pulls him out of his head - and Daisuke needs someone who grounds him, which, as The Beginning suggested, is (basically) exactly their dynamic. They always enjoy group gatherings with their friend groups, food tastings are always a reason for Daisuke to invite everybody over - especially to lure Ken away from work. And let's be real, I can also see them go on cheesy dates - that mostly consist of them doing sporting activities (any kind of ball sport, rollerskating, hiking) where Daisuke can (pretend to) be competitive and Ken knowingly plays along with the teasing, just so they have an excuse to be close. Because they'd be cheesy like that, oh Lord, they'd be so cheesy in the most wanna-be-bro way possible.

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

In a universe in which Miyaken doesn't become canon, there is literally no reason for Daiken not to be endgame - unless the writers actually had some guts and turned them into an official OT3 in The Beginning. Of course I can always enjoys them as just platonic life partners, bros 4 life, you don't even have to give it a label, as long as they remain as close as they are. Because they simply belong together, one way or another.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I think the relationship between Trey and Vil is pretty interesting (but again, as someone who really really likes Vil, each and every of his relationships is interesting to me). Vil himself said Riddle's lucky to have Trey and that Trey is a "exceptional second-in-command" (Vil labwear), and Vil repeatedly noted Trey's thoughtfulness (Vil union/jacket birthday), though sometimes Vil meant it to be criticism (main story 5-22 and Trey apprentice chef, both of which Vil commented that Trey's tendency to spoil others rotten will bring more harm than good for his underclassmen). So yes, they don't appear to be very close (and maybe they aren't), and Vil might appear to be mean to Trey (his words and actions are not helping lol), but I think Trey is one of few students in NRC where Vil actually enjoys having a chat with, considering Trey is one of the few that allow Vil to feel satisfied with his needs to constantly lecturing others and proving that he knows best by smiling and nodding along (Leona can outsmart Vil, Rook can out-talk Vil, Epel gets too defensive etc.) As for Trey, I don't think I know him enough to gauge his opinions about Vil. I'd love to hear what you think too!

I'll be honest, I don't usually think a lot about Trey or Vil (because they're both characters I don't personally enjoy) 🤔 but I love it when new TWST content comes out that makes me go back and reevaluate the characters. It makes them feel really dynamic and helps to recontextualize what I knew of them before. When I think of Vil and Trey's relationship, I think, "they're friendly acquaintances that give off the impression of a stern mom and a doting dad" (not necessarily in a romantic way, that's just the dynamic their relationship reminds me of). Individually, they're both competent people, but they have very different "parenting styles". However, it's never to the point where it becomes hateful. You can tell they disagree on some points, but they're also able to just have a civil conversation about it (ie "be the adults in the room"), letting their strengths play off of each other well. One thing that's very apparent about Vil is that he has high standards for not just himself, but for everyone. Because of this, he has a very critical eye when it comes to things like evaluating the quality of products, as well as others' character. He's not so easily tricked by expert liars like Jade (who came close to earning the Ghost Bride's heart, had it not been for Floyd's interference, even though she would later detect Azul's fakeness; Vil automatically knew something was sus in Jade's dorm uniform vignettes when the eel showed upon Pomefiore's doorstep claiming to want to transfer). What's more, Vil can take one look at someone and determine what their strengths and weaknesses are, and where their potential lies. That's why he picked Epel to be his "poison apple", because he knew that Epel had the capacity to be cute if he learned to embrace his femininity, which would help them stand a chance against RSA. Likewise, Vil can also see these in Trey, no matter how often Trey claims that he's normal or nothing special, or that he's just doing what anyone else would do. See, that's the thing with Trey. He comes off as so humble and approachable that Vil knows it's sometimes detrimental, whether that's to Trey himself or to others. It makes people too reliant on Trey's kindness instead of them learning to be independent (a sentiment which Vil frowns on), and Trey has a habit of perpetuating it because of how "considerate" and "thoughtful" (as Vil puts it) he is. It's a double-edged sword. But in spite of these traits, Vil also recognizes that Trey is skilled at what he does: smoothing things over (because let's be honest, Riddle can suck at that) and leading where others cannot (some will be more likely to listen to Trey because of how "nice" he is to them). I find it really fascinating how Trey talks himself down (in an act of humility), but most everyone else has nothing but high praise for him. It's typically the younger students who see Trey as some older brother figure who will always be there to help them when they need it... but it's the older students--and especially those with discerning eyes--that realize that Trey actually has greater strengths than just that. Both Vil AND Rook, who are some of THE most perceptive characters in the cast, have explicitly commented on Trey's leadership abilities (the latter being during the second Beans Day event; I wrote this post discussing Rook and Trey's relationship if you're interested in reading that! ^^). And you know what else is wild???? If you think about it, Trey is also just as perceptive, and I believe this plays well in his dynamic with Vil. There are many instances when Trey notices details that no one else does, like the fact that Cater dislikes sweets or that Rook does not like to share personal details.

The difference between Trey and Vil is that they use their perceptiveness in different ways; Vil is much more direct with his assessments, he does not hesitate to hit you in the face with what he has scoped out (call it "tough love"). He tends to criticize and point out flaws, and how people could be better. Think about how readily Vil chastised Deuce when Deuce tried to stand up for Epel in book 5; Vil immediately told him he has no right to complain when he has so much more work to do, even Potato #1 (Ace), who started around the same time as Deuce, has made significant progress while Deuce has lagged behind. Vil has no mercy, he is stone cold killer. Some people can't take getting their pride hurt or having their weaknesses told to them, and that's why Vil is often branded as "mean". Trey is the opposite; he often takes note of things but doesn't always make a point to bring it up unless there's a reason for it. His blows are much softer and more considerate because he doesn’t want to attract attention to himself by further aggravating the issue. He does not like having the spotlight on him (something which he brings up multiple times). As an example, when Trey tells us that Cater doesn't like sweets, he says it in a sort of casual manner rather than a pointed one, and his words are phrased such that it's only a guess rather than accusing him of something. Other times, Trey uses the information he has to avoid or to resolve conflicts. For example, when Sebek and Deuce are pressing Rook for information about his family, Trey diverts their attention to take the heat off of Rook. The huntsman realizes that Trey did it on purpose because Trey knew he was feeling uncomfortable with the circumstances. Trey even apologizes to Rook afterwards, asking if he shouldn't have done that. Vil is confrontational (most likely because he sees it as an avenue to push others to grow), whereas Trey is non-confrontational and happy to keep people comfortable with what they already know. If Vil's strategy is to attract bees with venom, then Trey's strategy is to attract bees with honey. On Trey's end, it's actually pretty difficult to gauge how he feels about his classmates because he often doesn't outright state his thoughts on specific people. One thing that crops up time and time again is that Trey typically performs well to make his dorm look good (because, according to him, it would just cause trouble if he messed something up). This says to me that Trey puts the needs or the expectations of others over his own, and this kind of thinking also carries over to how he expresses himself. He tends to make generalized statements like, "yeah, X can be like that", "they can be so energetic", or, "wow, that's impressive". I think this also applies to what he thinks of Vil; Trey has said in other instances that he finds the feats his classmates are capable of totally ridiculous. I'd imagine that he feels similarly about Vil, like he's some star that's way out of Trey's understanding. At the same time, Vil the A list celebrity is also just another classmate, so Trey treats him as such. I don't think I can really recall a time when Trey expressed not liking someone, because really he's the type of guy that tries to get along with everyone. It's not that he necessarily likes everyone, but that he maintains a decent enough relationship so as to avoid issues. As long as he doesn't start anything, no one starts anything with him. That's one of his major boons: Trey's mildness actually makes it so that he doesn't have any real enemies. People either accept his existence and leave him alone, or they give him some level of respect since he's consistently known as a "nice guy" on campus. That's part of why he is so effective as a leader in his own right, and others can recognize that. Vil is also an effective leader, but arguably how he approaches others and handles conflicts has made him more foes than friends (like... how often does he nitpick Epel's looks or manners, and then extend that behavior to people in other dorms?).

Back on the topic of Trey and Vil as a duo, I think it's because of their similarities (the ability to "read" others) and their differences (their very approaches with the information they have on others) that help flesh out their relationship. Vil is equally tough on himself as he is on others (perhaps even more tough on himself), and sometimes that leads to the problem where he denies himself very normal joys or he obsesses over very little details. Trey is exactly the type of person Vil needs to hear from every now and again--just a "normal" dude without those impossible standards. I think this is exemplified in Vil's Labwear vignettes. In those, he is worried about his figure because of a callous comment Rook made. Vil happens to run into Trey in the hallway, and during their conversation Trey picks up on Vil's irritation and invites him over to Heartslabyul for tea. While they're having drinks together, Trey asks about why Vil is upset, and that begins this whole talk about how Vil's upset with Rook's careless phrasing. Trey is able to toss in some of his own experiences dealing with Rook, thereby empathizing with (relating to) Vil rather than simply sympathizing with (feeling bad for) him. I noticed Trey also has less dialogue than Vil; he's giving Vil the space to vent, and pretty much all of Trey's responses are very non-judgmental, non-inflammatory ones. Towards the tail-end of the conversation, Vil actually starts shifting the topic from his annoyance with Rook to Trey's modesty. It's through this that Trey is able to seize the chance to pitch the cake (the so-called "stress relief") he was hoping to offload to Pomefiore this whole time to Vil. Trey got what he wanted in the end while also soothing Vil's troubles, because he treated Vil like an equal rather than a queen on a pedestal. He's okay with soaking up Vil's venom and acting as the verbal punching bag since Trey can just meet it with a level head and understanding. That, in turn, makes Vil feel heard and seen without being judged (which would just make Vil more critical of himself). It's not that Trey just smiles and nods along to let people get anger out of their systems, it's that he actually listens and tells them what they need to hear, but not in an overly sycophantic or condescending way. He knows what to do and say, and how to respond to get on people’s good side. (If that isn't a mastermind move, then I don't know what is 😂 Trey's a lot craftier than people give him credit for! His unassuming nature and lack of open blackheartedness just makes it harder to spot.)

What makes Vil and Trey’s relationship work is that they seem to have a mutual respect for one another, and an understanding of what the other is “truly” like. Vil knows Trey is more talented than he lets on, and Trey can give Vil that outlet he needs to speak on his real emotions. That’s why gives me such strong “parental figures” energy as well 😂

[atopvisenyashill]

in anon because I'm a coward but I confess that I love the parent-child dynamic of the targaryens, and being a incestuous family already make any relationship odd.

one of your posts about Jaehaerys and his daughters being groomed made me think about other parent-child relationships that are fascinating to me, like visenya-maegor, rhaena the lesbian-aerea, viserys i-rhaenyra, viserys ii-his three children. i wish there was more info him as a father because: he was violently separated from his family, forced to marry the daughter of his kidnapper, become a father between the ages 13-16 and by 17 he is a single father.

in my delusions 🤡 he didn't want naerys to be a septa because that would mean she has to go to oldtown, and he didn't want her to leave him like larra or aegon did

i mean you have COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE lol, i think the ones that interest me the most are similar: aligon obviously lol, visnyra (always sad that tag is 90% rhaenyra and an oc lol), rhaenyra-jacaerys, maegor-visenya, jaehaerys-daughters in general, alysanne-daughters in general (god that court was crazy lol), aegon iv-daeron, viserys-naerys, naerys-daemon, and viserys-rhaella. i think what's fascinating about emotional abuse and targaryens is that a lot of emotional abuse is like,,,,, rooted in a parent forcing a child to take on a role that a child is ill suited for, usually the role of a parent or a friend. it's not that every parent-child abuse dynamic is inherently sexual, but i guess it's that emotional abuse is meant to blur the lines between boundaries, and sexual boundaries are just a subgrouping of emotional boundaries - when you add in the incest, it's like it lays bare that thread that ties emotional abuse to sexual abuse and how those things can feed off each other. did that make sense lol.

i'm also very curious about viserys ii as a parent - i think we can assume he has some level of trauma surrounding marriages because even though larra rogare dies a handful of years after returning to lys, he doesn't remarry and doesn't have more children, even knowing how frail naerys is and knowing how insane aegon is already. i think it's really intersting that he sends aegon to braavos instead of lys when he's trying to separate aegon and naerys as well. i also feel like all the poisonings he's accused of aren't likely - why wouldn't he just off aegon then, once daeron was born and lived past infancy, if he was so cool with kinslaying? we can see aegon was a problem already, and a big enough problem that viserys is trying to send him away so he doesn't rape naerys to death - speaks to both a high level of extreme sexual abuse being heaped onto poor naerys as well as a level of compassion (however sleight) shown to a woman suffering from domestic violence that is not particularly common in Westeros. and it's interesting that he's really similar to show alicent, in that he becomes a parent at a disturbingly young age, and then basically parents his kids on his own from his teenage years and onward.

i think that's a really likely and great reading of what we've gotten from viserys-naerys so far too - that he has so many attachment and abandonment issues (i mean literally though not purposefully abandoned to die by aegon and coming so close to being sold into slavery and the who knows where the hell that horror show would have taken him!) and would force naerys to marry aegon to keep her close. it's not dissimilar from visnyra - forcing her to marry a gay man, allowing her an affair, but refusing to allow her daemon specifically because he wants to be the most important man in her life and neither laenor nor harwin are a threat to that but daemon is. so viserys ii follows in his footsteps by binding naerys to aegon, and putting aemon on the kingsguard - she'll never love aegon because he's a monster, she can never openly be with aemon because he's celibate, so no one can ever usurp viserys' position as the number one man in her life.

[veliseraptor]

Top five canon ships from your fandoms?

canon ships? what're those. also I mean. how "canon" are we talking, like, explicitly canon, implicitly canon, they-get-together-at-the-end canon, they-at-some-point-were-a-thing canon, plausible-deniability-canon, it's complicated

but okay, to try to take this in the spirit it was probably meant

Hua Cheng/Xie Lian from TGCF. one of the most incredible things about TGCF is that it actually made me wholeheartedly and enthusiastically ship a completely canon and...relatively functional...ship. I mean, they've definitely got their dysfunction (Hua Cheng get some self esteem and maybe pedestalize Xie Lian a little less challenge) but they're weirdo4weirdo and friends in a delightful way that makes me really enjoy how they do it. I'm not saying they invented love, as the saying goes, but they're certainly good at it.

Felix Harrowgate &/ Mildmay from Doctrine of Labyrinths. look, if there's explicit incestuous attraction at at least one point I think it counts. this is one of those ships that straddles the line between & and / for me a lot of the time, because any sexual stuff aside it's so intense and intimate that, like. it might as well be a "classic" ship, just without the sex, and we're agreed that something doesn't have to have sex in it to be a ship, right? and there is the canonical one-sided incestuous attraction, so, like. it's not even completely without the sex.

Vegas Theerapanyakul/Pete Saengtham from Kinnporsche. cannot believe that this is canon thing that actually happened in a show that I watched. made 4 me. incredible. forever grateful to Kinnporsche for giving me this gift.

Caleb Widogast/Essek Thelyss from Critical Role. I feel like it's canon enough? maybe that's controversial but I'm going to stand by it. fascinating dynamic, two fucked up people being fucked up together, atonement arcs that aren't usually my thing but crossed with a wondrous amount of wizard hubris and people who are both kind of bad at being people. I'm into it.

Chu Wanning/Taxian-jun from 2HA. this spot was more of a toss-up but ultimately I settled on these two. I specify Taxian-jun here because while I really enjoy Mo Ran/Chu Wanning other flavor it's truly the Maximum Fucked Up that gets/got me. the hate/love/obsession of it. so good, I'm rolling around in it like a cat in catnip. thank u Meatbun for giving this to me with all its laundry list of associated trigger warnings

I feel like everyone should know how fucking tempted I was to put xuexiao on here. because it was very tempted. they're so close, you guys, I would argue implicitly canon, but, well. probably not what you meant, anon.

a number of what I'd call "plausible deniability canon" ships from mxtx, really. but again, spirit of the question.

[bronte-deserves-better]

In honor of pride month, I think I'm gonna do a little ramble about why Bronte/Emery genuinely appeals to me as a ship dynamic, even though I've been in this fandom long enough to remember that it started as a joke. More below the cut because this got longer than planned.

So first off, Bronte and Emery are similar in some ways. To me, their connecting thread is their shared devotion to the Council. Bronte is the longest-serving Councillor, and when the main crew is suspicious of the Council having a leak in Everblaze, Fitz dismisses the idea that Bronte could be that leak outright. Bronte is said to be very dedicated to his job. Similarly, we see Emery make every effort to maintain the Council's reputation and standing over the course of the books. As the Council's spokesperson, he rarely shares his own opinion, and instead acts as the voice of the Council. (Which makes Emery a fascinating character in his own right to me, but that's a different post.)

So Bronte and Emery have some shared values: the Council. They're both believers in the system, generally upholding the established power structures rather than transgressing them like Oralie or Kenric.

But their duality is also fascinating to me. Bronte is strong-willed and opinionated, "infamously struggling" with the edict that Councillors should not speak against the Council's decisions even if they don't agree. He clearly has his own moral framework; even though it often aligns with the Council, when it doesn't, he never hesitates to speak against the rest. Bronte is blunt, harsh, and a rather abrasive character.

By contrast, Emery is smooth-tongued and charming. Unlike Bronte, he almost never speaks his own opinion. Instead, as I said above, he acts as the voice of the Council. I think it must require a certain kind of personality and patience to be a successful spokesperson; even when decisions are made which you personally disagree with, you have to maintain the facade of unity.

I think it's this duality which draws them to each other, in a way. Neither of them could be each other, and consequently they find the other equally fascinating and frustrating. It's easy to imagine that Emery is sometimes frustrated by Bronte's outspoken nature, which he sees as undermining the unity of the Council. Bronte, meanwhile, wouldn't understand how Emery can set aside his principles so easily. It's frustrating, but it's also fascinating. It draws them to be curious about each other.

Another aspect to this is the isolation of the Councillors. We know Councillors are forbidden from having romantic relationships or children canonically; some people have extrapolated from this the idea that Councillors are also encouraged to not maintain contact with their families. But even setting explicit regulations aside, the Councillors are deeply lonely characters. They each live (theoretically alone) in a vast castle, making their decisions about the elven world largely in isolation. How many secrets must the Council know that they are forbidden to share with anyone else? How much does their work keep them from forming connections with other elves, even ones that they aren't technically forbidden from having, like friendships?

As far as I imagine it, the Councillors, by virtue of their positions, are deeply isolated from close relationships with anyone outside the Council, which makes their relationships with each other all the more crucial. The rest of the Council are people that they spend long periods of time in discussion with, must work with to preserve the safety of the elven world, and the only other elves who can truly understand what all of this is like. The Councillors are forbidden from forming 'attachments', but under those conditions, it's not hard to see why some Councillors do form attachments to one another: canonically, Kenric and Oralie, or not so canonically, Bronte and Emery.

In my fic your drama (the touch of your hand) (which is on my AO3 SemperAeternumQue and you should definitely check out-), I imagine Bronte and Emery as having somewhat of a friends/coworkers with benefits relationship. In AUs, I might imagine them in a more traditionally romantic dynamic, but in the canon universe of Keeper, traditional romance just doesn't seem to fit them. Both of them are too dedicated to their work to pursue anything they see as overly romantic or breaking their oaths; they aren't in love the way Oralie and Kenric were, but they find a sort of comfort in one another. They are some of the only people capable of understanding the position that the other is in: their shared dedication to the Council intermingled with the sheer loneliness of being a Councillor.

And that's fascinating to me! I love dynamics that for whatever reason can't be categorized nearly into traditional relationship categories! Bronte and Emery's canon dynamic is absolutely fascinating because of so many things: the unconventional nature of the relationship, the fact that they're both doing something that could be seen as breaking their oaths- oaths that we know they both are canonically quite dedicated to- and the resulting cognitive dissonance, the duality and contrast between their personalities that draws them to one another, the fact that they can never fully understand each other but take comfort in the other nonetheless- I just love everything about what canon!Brontemery would be like.

(Oh yeah, and a final note because I thought of it midway through: I've spent a lot of this ramble contrasting brontemery to koralie, which wasn't intentional at first, but I do think Bronte and Emery's dynamic in canon would provide an interesting contrast/foil to Kenric and Oralie's dynamic. They’re both pairs of Councillors, but one largely upholds the existing system and one acts rebelliously.

At first glance, Kenric and Oralie seems like the most wholesome, if tragic relationship, while Bronte and Emery does not, particularly as they both take an more antagonistic role at different points in the series and are generally not depicted as good people. However, as we’ve seen canonically, Oralie and Kenric’s relationship had some darker aspects, while I imagine that whatever else about them, Bronte and Emery’s relationship with each other is largely good. Bronte and Emery are two characters that rarely act against the system, but break one of their sacred oaths as Councillors to be together. By contrast, Oralie and Kenric pine for each other but refuse to break that specific oath, despite all the other treason they both commit. They're both pairs of Councillors, but couldn't be more different otherwise. (I also have a rant about how Bronte and Oralie's characters contrast one another in interesting ways, but that's again a different post.))

In conclusion, am I normal about kotlc? No.

[myfandomrealitea]

Very specific question, but do you (or anyone else) know of how to get rid of that nagging feeling of sharing everything you create?

I'm a writer, both in the fanfic sense and of my own stories. I'm also proship, but nobody I care about knows that fact due to be so severely anti to the point of me mentioning the discourse (to test the waters) gets a blatant "proshippers aren't human beings and should kill themselves".

I really want to write a small fic about a problematic ship (young child x older person) that I don't even actually like! I don't ship it, though I don't care if other people do. But I'm fascinated by the idea of it, the possible dynamic, because it's very popular in the proshipper circle of the fandom and it's been nagging at me. The problem is that I write and then want to share it. Writing for myself feels.... Wrong, almost? But I cannot share it with my loved ones. I had previously already suggested writing a similar idea to a very close friend and he was severely disgusted by it, asked me if I was genuinely considering writing it and I had to very quickly play it off as a joke.

And I know the next suggestion will be the proshipper side of the fandom, but sharing my work online for others I don't know to see makes me personally uncomfortable, which is a major shame.

(I'm not even going to touch the fact that your "loved ones" think people like you should kill themselves.)

But. A good way is to treat them like an assessment opportunity. Make a copy of each piece and use something like Google Documents to annotate and evaluate what you've written. Move all of the originals into a secondary folder.

Not only will this help improve your writing in the long run, but it somewhat changes the intent of the literature from something written to, at its core, be shared, into a personal resource.

There's also the option of making new friends. You don't have to go out and gather people up like a squirrel with a winter store, but even just one likeminded person whom you can get to know well enough to feel comfortable sharing your work can help sate that need to share and engage with someone about what you create. You can send your content to them privately, then, rather than uploading it for the masses.

But. I would just gently like to say that perhaps its not the need to share that you need to reflect on and try to negate. If you have to ask how to stifle yourself so that your loved ones don't think of you as inhuman meat that needs to be slaughtered, perhaps you're asking the wrong questions.

[girlcalledwhatsername]

you reblogged my post and said to ask you about community and jeffbritta sooo!! asking

omg hi!! thanks you 💕

There's obviously a lot to talk about with community, I find that the more times I watch it the more I have to say about the characters, that's just the kind of show it is. So in the interest of keeping it relatively short I'm gonna focus on JeffBritta here

I think I didn't quite appreciate Jeff as a character on my very first watch, it's really a character whose layers you start peeling off more and more as you re-watch, and Britta is similar in that way (but dissimilar in the way that I feel the writers have often half assed her characterisation because she was an easy butt-of-the-joke character after a while). JeffBritta is the first pair we are introduced to so they seem like, the obvious pair at first and then obviously six seasons later you realise they're awful for each other but I find that's where their allure is. I don't think they should have "ended up together" but I think their dynamic reveals so so much about both characters, and it's fascinating and I love seeing it.

They are mirrors to each other, they bring out the worst in each other, they are complex and flawed people who come face to face with their own flaws when trying to go after the other's flaws. The qualities they hate in each other reflect their own. They need to take control and pretend that it's been thrust upon them because truthfully they never have control over their selves and their lives and they're both constantly compensating for that. When Annie says their whole relationship is just a competition to them like everything else she really sums it up well. They're inconsiderate jerks playing at some stupid game that no one's gonna win, but it's so stupid that no one else would ever play it with them. It's like they're in a fight club and the only one they could find willing to hit back in this crazy game is the other person. There's an element of masochism to that competition.

It's really fitting that when things start to fall apart they decide to get married and say that it "feels right" because that's familiar territory, the self destructive way they seek each other out and the fear of being left behind, the fear of situations not being in their control and the need to do something drastic to take back that control because they chose it. Of course they'll turn to each other in that time. They aren't partners in crime like Troy and Abed. They are enablers, from the petty fights with high schoolers all the way down to a marriage that neither of them truly wants.

The way Britta keeps trying to "fix" Jeff with her half assed understanding is a running joke but beneath that it's so much more: it's that she's trying to fix herself and that's why she does manage to get Jeff to have those revelations about his father or about his ego, and that's why Britta gets so emotional about it when Jeff stands up for himself, because it's all too close to home, and she's fixing in Jeff the flaws she subconsciously sees in herself. It's a joke, sure, but it's also that somehow they know each other because unfortunately, they know themselves.

And at the end of it they started this together and they're the only ones left behind when everyone else leaves. That's what Jeff is so so afraid of, that he'll be the one left behind and he plays it cool and projects that fear onto others but it's always been him who is stuck in the rut while everyone else moves on, and at the end of it all when the goodbyes are said and the tears are dried we get the shot of him returning to his unmoving spot and she is still there because she's in the same boat. They're extremely lonely people with aspirations to do so so much but an inability to move on, and in twisted and toxic ways they'll always end up with each other.

[loominggaia]

I wonder how Cerulea's kids would get along with Oberon's kids? Or Marghan?

Good question! I doubt Cerulea allows her kids to interact with foreign nobles in their leisure time, but I'm sure they do interact sometimes at international royal galas. These galas can take place anywhere on Gaia, most often at castles or convention centers. They're opportunities for nobles to network with eachother, find spouses for their heirs, and show off their wealth.

Lazuline: Would probably get along well with Winnie because they're both quiet, nerdy, and bookish. Marghan would annoy her and Hestal would absolutely disgust her.

Saphirra: Would totally go clubbing with Blomi and Marghan. Thinks Jaq is hot and tries to slob his knob every time she sees him, but he's not having it. One, because he's not really attracted to women. Two, because she's creepy in an uncanny "Stepford Wives" kind of way. Three, because he heard what happened to her eight ex-husbands and is smart enough to realize this ho is straight up radioactive lol.

Teal: Refuses to get chummy with any of these dirty barbaric foreigners because Mommy Dearest(tm) wouldn't like it. Makes a show of acting really rude to them at galas, but only when Cerulea is watching. It's only a matter of time before she triggers Hestal's bad temper and he upends a whole feast table on top of her. Not "if", but "when".

Cyana: She's intrigued by Marghan because he has the wild, free, adolescence she wishes she had. I could see her naively following him around and getting into trouble because of it. She'd also get along with OJ because they're both misunderstood and have a ton of parental pressure on them. Also, a couple different people have said they think OJ is nonbinary (he must have a vibe or something lol), and if that's the case then Cyana might relate to him on that level, as Oberon would not accept OJ's gender identity just like Cerulea wouldn't accept Cyana's homosexuality.

Marine: She and Trista would be BFFs. Trista has a dominant, manipulative personality and Marine is more of a naïve follower, so I imagine they have a "Rocky and Mugsy" dynamic going on. They're destructive enough alone, but together they become an unstoppable storm of chaos. They cause a scene at every royal gala they attend, and their antics destroyed an entire convention center at least once. Trista would try to convince Marine to help her kill her little brother Nate, and Marine is so desperate for friendship that she'd probably agree to it. (But of course Marine fucks up everything she does, so she sabotages Trista's plans and Natey Potatey lives to see another day!)

Skylie: Skylie is a friendly and polite girl who gets along with just about everyone she meets (or at least tries to). She finds foreign people fascinating because she's always sheltered in her little palace life. She would be particularly interested in Winnie because they both love reading. Skylie would want to help Blomi solve the Mystery of the Wailing Halls in Folkvar Castle, and together they might just free Sygbarne from her tower. One person Skylie doesn't get along with is the little brat Trista, and she would try to protect Nate from her. She would like to know the other royal offspring too, but since she's just a little girl, most of them aren't interested in talking to her...except Goryx, that evil fuck. He's a huge book nerd and so is Skylie, so I could imagine him preying on that to lure her into joining the Crescent Cult. Promising her unlimited knowledge and power, and she gets to wear a pretty mask! Skylie's read too many fantasy books about evil wizards to fall for his bullshit though. She probably kicks him in the nuts, tells security, and gets him booted from the function lol.

Cobalt: Nate and Trista are the only ones remotely close to Cobalt's age, but I don't think he'd get along with them because they actually act like kids, and he acts like...well, a highly neurotic adult. This kid's anxiety is so bad and his childhood is so strict. Especially since his mother and grandmother scare him with Lindist scripture, telling him how evil non-commoners and foreigners are, so he'd be terrified of everyone he encountered.

*

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thranto for the shipping bingo!! 💙

Ohoho thank you!

I feel like I have to explain myself with this one.

I do really enjoy the ship. Aesthetically it's top notch, no notes, but I do find that fandom has a tendency of dropping canon dynamics, when to me it's what makes the ship.

There's lots of thranto art and fic that's wholesome, loving, depicting them being emotional, open, touchy feely, romantic and even enjoying cozy family life.

And while that's super good and I'm always happy to see it, I do feel like it's a huge majority of the fan take on the ship, when to me, what makes thranto so madeningly tasty is that Thrawn goes from alien underling to Eli's boss. He manipulates the course of his life, puts him in danger repeatedly , disregards his outspoken choices and desires... Makes him pretty clearly fall for him... Then sells him on this whole idea of going to work for his people.

And then Eli ends up pining, with very canon frustration, the feeling he's being abandoned (and maybe used?) And *we* the reader know Thrawn has a history of collecting sidekicks. In every appearance he has a different one! He also sends more people to the Chiss, or tries and fails. So Eli isn't even unique in that way.

So is Thrawn using him? Protecting him? Does he love him, and if so, is it in a way Eli can recognise?

Eli's fascinating to me because he's so completely caught in this drama with his boss who borderline owns him like a pet. He has a "are we the baddies?2 moment too, and puts the entire thing down because Thrawn tells him to... Yet he ends up going to the Chiss compelled by this idea of a greater good?

He's so wrapped around this man, so molded by him, he may as well be the "you want me so bad it makes you look stupid" meme.

And. Yet. They. Are. Platonic.

Isn't it wild? Aren't Eli tears tasty to fandom? I also feel like Thrawn's alien side is not often played with, and his cold and analytical side discarded for more fieryness.

ANYWAY. That's why I chose guilty pleasure ship, because I mostly find slightly ooc fics, but they're still great and tasty so I indulge. But ultimately it's not the dynamic I seek for Thranto.

Saying fanon gets them wrong is an overstatement, and I'm sure plenty of others see it like I do. It's just not a very angsty ship, when I think it should be.

Also as a ship it's very close to my heart because I got one of my besties into SW with the Thrawn book (so she could understand my thrawn fic I was writing at the time and help me beta, may the writing gods bless her soul), and she sent me so many unhinged screenshots of her kindle with furious thranto notes all over. I cherish them!

[hotpocketcasserole]

Thoughts on X Files so far...

There really aren't many shows that I get super invested in anymore these days. I think because of work and the lethargy that comes with getting older and unhealthier, my brain has sort of rewired itself to only be able to tolerate youtube videos. Mostly commentary and narration channels.

Like, I rarely sit down and watch movies anymore because I could easily watch a twenty minute Cinema Snob or Ryan Hollinger essay on the movie. On the one hand, those sorts of reviews give a deeper analysis of movies and shows and give me different perspectives that I hadn't considered before. On the other, it's my lazy way of consuming media without putting 90 minutes into it. And when I do, I find myself playing a game on my phone or scrolling tumblr.

I have sort of found myself doing that with the X Files but I'm trying to make more of an effort to pay attention. Some episodes can be a bit slow but I know I ought to be making more of an effort.

That said, it feels so natural to get into this show. Not just because I've already watched the first three seasons about a dozen times but because it really is just a good show. There have been other shows that I really struggled to get into or keep up with and I wondered why that was.

I've tried watching similar shows like Hannibal or Mindhunter. I enjoyed them a bit but found myself getting burnt out after a season or even a few episodes. They were beautifully shot, well written, very well acted. And yet I quickly fell out of love with Hannibal and I lost interest in Mindhunter after about five or so episodes.

I think it might be because these shows took themselves too seriously. To me, they lacked the range of emotion. They were too dour, too despondent. The visuals in Hannibal were extremely artistic and lush but ultimately too depressing. No one seemed to have much humor about anything and everything was focused around murder and cannibalism. It was very similar with Mindhunter. It was a fascinating story to follow along but I came away from each episode in a deep funk.

The X Files can be a dark show, both in content and in visuals. I think I watched a special feature on a DVD where one of the show's creators joked about how the show seemed to mostly take place in the dark. They'd come to the set and all the lights would be off and they'd think it was closed but actually they were just getting ready to start filming!

But I think what separates X Files from these other shows is the fact that there is a balance of light and dark. Mulder and Scully have a good professional rapport with one another. As they grow as characters, they're starting to care more each other, about how they're feeling. Mulder expresses concern for Scully a few times on particular cases he knows affect Scully on a personal level. They go out of their ways sometimes to help one another. They even joke and smile with one another!

I'm still only three seasons in but I'm already hooked because I can see the broad range of humanity in these characters. Not just Mulder and Scully but the supporting characters as well. There are funny moments, tender moments, heartbreaking moments. And having those only makes the intense moments even more suspenseful. Even though I know the show goes on for several more seasons, I still cling to the edge of the sofa when they're in danger.

That's what sets this show apart from most other shows for me. Even with some bad acting, even with it's cheesy TV special effects, it's still an effective and dynamic show. It's story telling and the relationship between Mulder and Scully.

Feel free to disagree or tell me if I'm wrong, these are just some random things I was thinking about lately while watching the show.

Also, Scully is always a mood: